No More Excuses
Another Premier League game, another disgraceful result.
In Saturdays Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Roeder promised that
Newcastle would "...come out punching and fighting. When the going
gets tough, the tough get going, and that's what everyone from the
chairman down to the tea lady will be doing tonight."
Well Glenn, if that is your best fight then it is time for you to
go.
Newcastle dominated throughout, though failed to score a goal
against the side who are rooted to the bottom of the league. Rossi
hit the crossbar from close range in the first half and Damien Duff
spurned a few decent chances, but Scott Carson will have played in
more testing games.
Charlton could have scored a couple of goals themselves - Darren
Bent failed to capitalise when Titus Shambles made his usual
comical error, Bryan Hughes volleyed inches wide, and if Babayaro
had not taken Rommedahl out in the closing seconds they could
easily have snuck away with all three points in the bag. Things
need to change. We now lie only one place above a relegation spot
and this is our second worst start to a season in the Premier
League.
With the state of play on the pitch coupled with our sliding
attendances (another crowd below 50,000 on Saturday) as well as
appalling preliminary financial results (a £12million loss for
eleven months up to 30.6.06) then the case against our chairman is
growing stronger by the day. If Shepherd is successful in his
desire to pick up more shares and take overall control of the club,
the club will die. Shepherd needs to go now.
We are so far away from being able to challenge from a Champions
League place that we need to change everything - starting at the
top. We need new owners, a new chairman, a new manager and several
new players.
If we do not get these things soon, we will be the next Leeds
United.
Come on you potential investors, get buying!
Relegation Battle
We have been sucked into the relegation battle. Is it too soon to
claim such a thing after only eight games? Not when you watch our
back four.
Bolton came to town on Sunday, and Newcastle managed to concede yet
another lead at home in calamitous fashion.
Newcastle were the better side for much of the first half, though
Jaaskeleinen was rarely tested. The opening goal came from a
fortuitous handball decision. Oba Martins looked to whip the ball
into the box, and the ball cannoned of a defenders arm. There was
not much the defender could have done about it, but the linesman
(or referees assistant as they like to be called these days)
awarded the spot kick. Diouf began his antics there and then -
firstly chasing the referee down to argue against the decision, and
then walking over and kicking up the penalty spot just before Shola
Ameobi placed the ball. Ameobi slotted it home well - probably his
only contribution of the day.
Later in the first half, the luckiest man in the world of football
(Peter Ramage, how on earth do you get paid to play football?)
missed an open goal from six yards, which would have doubled our
lead. He has never scored a Premiership goal and he never
will.
The only other effort of note from the home side came early in the
second half. Martins fired a shot at goal that was smartly saved by
the Bolton keeper - one of the best and most under rated
goalkeepers in the business. After the game, Roeder exclaimed that
Newcastle 'Dominated for sixty minutes.' Are you sure Glenn?
Cue the Newcastle back four comedy show. I am not even going to
bother describing them to you. You have seen it all hundreds of
times before. Two goals in two minutes for the odious Diouf. The
fans were absolutely furious, and the booing at full time will send
a clear message to the fat controller - this is just Souness all
over again. Actually, that is a bit unfair on the dour Scotsman -he
had picked up a point more at this stage of last season and then
went on to win his next three Premiership games. No pressure there
then Roeder.
Perhaps the loudest message of the day to Shepherd did not come
from the booing, but from the fact that there were only 48,145 in
attendance - the lowest gate for a Premiership game at St James's
Park since May 14th 2000 when 36,450 watched Newcastle play Arsenal
before the stadium was redeveloped. The lowest attendance in 118
league games. The attendance was inflated by the inclusion of pre
paid season tickets whether the supporters who paid for those
tickets bothered to turn up or not. Many of them didn't.
We now face Middlesbrough (away), Charlton (home) and Sheffield
United (home) in our next three league games. Anything less than
seven points is not acceptable.
With a back four that is possibly the worst in the Premiership
(prove me wrong -name me a back four worse that Carr, Ramage, Moore
and Shambles) and a manager who is tactically inept, we could well
go down. I have no doubt that Shepherd will give Roeder money to
panic buy in January, but if he rates Oba Martins at £10million, I
shudder to think what defensive options he will look at. Remember,
this is the man who would not sign Sol Campbell because of his age,
Woodgate because of his injuries, and continues to pick Bramble
regardless of the errors he makes - leaving Taylor on the bench, so
he can not use his 'options' as an excuse.
Even if this run continues, I suspect that the fans will not turn
on Roeder. He is a man who fell into a job that he could not refuse
- you can't blame him for taking it. This time the flack will all
be directed towards the man at the top. The fans will not drive
Roeder out as we know that the idiotic Shepherd will only go and
replace him with someone like Curbishley - another leap sideways.
As I have stated several times over the past few months - Shepherd
appointed Roeder and then claimed it was 'the fans choice'.
Rubbish. I do not know a single supporter who would have chosen
Roeder to take us forward.
Then again, I bet Roeder is not one of the highest paid managers in
the Premiership. Higher dividend pay outs anyone?
Fenerbahce (UEFA Cup) 1-0 (W)
Antoine Sibierski scored the only goal of the game eleven minutes
from time as Newcastle got their UEFA cup group stage off to a
winning start.
The game was very tight with neither side having too many chances,
though Rustu had more to do than an obviously injured Steve
Harper.
Our back four - in which Taylor partnered Ramage at centre half,
looked far more comfortable than of late though they were rarely
tested.
The crowd was 30,035 - boosted by an incredible turnout of around
4,000 Fenerbahce fans.
Are You Souness In Disguise?
1971/72. That was the last time we beat Manchester United at Old
Trafford.
Speaking to some loyal Reds fans before the game, Man United have
been off their game of late - some claiming that their points total
is quite flattering considering some of the inept performances that
they have put in recently - a home defeat to the Gunners, and a
draw at newly promoted Reading.
Whilst the odds were against us, surely we would have a go? Lets go
all out and play a bit of football. Lets go down fighting.
Not this manager! Our tactical genius decided that the way to
approach the game would be to drop Oba Martins after he finally
broke his home goalscoring duck with two on Thursday. He would also
leave the in form Charles N'Zogbia on the bench. He would recall
Nicky Butt to the starting line-up - presumably so he could have a
bit of a chat and a laugh with his old pals at full time?
Basically, Roeder decided that we would go to Old Trafford aiming
for damage limitation. In only succumbing to a 2v0 defeat some
would be forgiven for thinking that he had, in some warped way,
succeeded. Anyone who actually watched the game would know that
this was not the case at all. We were absolutely hammered. Man
United hardly got out of second gear and could still have won the
game five or six. Harper pulled off some good saves, and Man United
were unlucky in and around the box throughout the game. This is not
good enough. Thanks to our Chairman's amateurish handling of the
club, we are now just 'also rans'.
Graeme Souness should never have been given the managerial job at
Newcastle United. Seven games into last season we had endured some
woeful performances and the heat was on the Scotsman. Most fans
were determined to drive him out. After the first seven games of
last season our record was P7 W2 D2 L3 F5 A7 PTS 8. Pretty
poor.
Now compare this to Roeder's record: P7 W2 D1 L4 F6 A10 PTS 7. It
is there for all to see - Roeder has somehow managed to make a
worse start to the season than the man who was possibly our most
unpopular manager in decades. We have less points than at this
stage last season and we have conceded three more goals. Hmmm,
perhaps Boumsong was not the only problem after all.
If we fail to improve Roeder will start to feel the heat from the
terraces, but I don't think that it will ever reach the fever pitch
levels of the campaign that finally drove Souness from the club.
No, this time I think that the focus of the fans rage could well be
the hapless Mr, Shepherd. He can attempt to manipulate the media
all he wants, but the fans are not fooled - Roeder was NOT the fans
choice for the job. (Martin O'Neill anyone?). If Shepherd continues
to resist the advances of potential new owners, and if things do
not improve soon, there could be trouble at Gallowgate with
attendances already showing a small decline
Our next five league fixtures are Bolton (H), Middlesbrough (A),
Charlton (H), Sheff United (H) and Man City (A) - 13 points from
these fixtures would go a long way to appeasing the fans.
Squad Breakdown
Below is my breakdown of our current squad, and a rating of their
performance this season:
Goalkeepers
1. Shay Given Shay is one of the top goalkeepers in Europe. He is
our most consistent performer week in week out, and he will be a
huge miss as he recovers from injury over the next five or six
weeks. SSF 7/10
12. Steve Harper A reasonable understudy. Harper has barely
featured for Newcastle over the years, and has not endured the best
of times when he has. Prone to error, Harper has conceded two
howlers in his past three games. SSF 3.
Defence
2. Steve Carr One thing you are always guaranteed from Steve Carr
is 100% commitment in a game. He is not the greatest right back to
ever grace a football field, but there are not too many better
right backs than him in the Premiership. SSF 6.
18. Craig Moore Signed by Souness as a backup, Moore has probably
been our best defender this season though his lack of pace and size
can leave him exposed. SSF 6.
19. Titus Bramble Has made an appalling start to this season, last
season and all other seasons, but amazingly still starts games week
in week out. SSF 3.
26. Peter Ramage Does not look comfortable at full back, and is to
weak to be a centre half. Ramage can be seriously exposed against
the big teams. SSF 5.
27. Steve Taylor Huge potential. Taylor has struggled with injury
this season, and when he has been fit Roeder has bizarrely favoured
Bramble. Unfair to grade at this stage.
33. Celastine Babayaro Plays a few, misses a few. Frequently either
suspended or missing with strains and complaints that are barely
detectable. When he does play he gives us all hope that one day we
might live the dream and pull on that black and white shirt. SSF
5.
Midfield
4. Nobby Solano Made a slow start to the season and is now missing
with injury. SSF 4.
5. Emre Has obvious talent, but is a luxury player. Can often work
as a decent foil for the industrious Parker, but does not add
presence to the midfield - this is something that we lack. When he
is on his game he can be dangerous, but he can also go missing at
times. SSF 7.
11. Damien Duff Yet to settle and recreate his Chelsea best form.
Has moments of magic, and will become a very useful first team
player when he has more presence to aim for in the box. SSF
7.
14. Charles N'Zogbia Charles is one of the best young players in
the Premiership. Unfortunately so far this season he has spent a
lot of time on the bench or filling in at left back. When he has
started, or been introduced in his favoured left wing position, he
has been superb. SSF 8.
16 James Milner I can't figure Milner out. He is capable of
brilliance one second, which is often followed by a terrible final
ball. He has enjoyed an extended run in the team in Nobby's
absence. SSF 6.
17. Scott Parker I was slightly critical of Parker last season - he
was very industrious but we did not see much of him in an attacking
sense. This season he has stepped up a gear and has been superb.
There are very few players that put in as much work as Parker.
Apparently he will feature in the next England squad. SSF 8.
22. Nicky Butt Very lucky to still be at the club, though it is
probably just as well he is or we would be very short on numbers.
SSF 5.
Forwards
7. Albert Luque Roeder is not giving the Spaniard much of a look
in.
9. Obafemi Martins Still very early days for the young Nigerian,
but his two UEFA goals midweek should give him more confidence. I
have been impressed by his aptitude and effort, but less so by his
composure and finishing. SSF 7.
23. Shola Ameobi Leading the line despite a hip injury that has
required surgery for over a year. Despite this injury, Shola has
bagged a few goals. He will continue to soldier on until we can
sign another striker in January. SSF 7.
Long term injuries
8. Kieron Dyer The name rings a bell.
10. Michael Owen His recent knee operation was declared a success.
He is a huge miss.
Sibierski - why?
Is it Thomas Gravesen to shore up the midfield? How about a return
to Tyneside for Johnny Woodgate? Much needed strengthening at left
back from Wayne Bridge? Surely Malbranque could be on his way to
strengthen our options on the right hand side? And a forward -
surely we will sign a top quality forward?
Antoine Sibierski and Giuseppi Rossi. That's all.
If there were many of us left under the illusion that Newcastle
United are a 'massive club' as Freddy Shepherd would like to call
it, then I think last night's transfer inactivity just about helped
us to realise we have finally become an 'also ran'.
Yes, I know we signed Oba Martins last week - but a signing like
that had been on the cards for two years since we found out that
Alan Shearer was going to hang up his boots. What we were desperate
for was a strengthening of the squad. What we received is a
joke.
Rossi is undoubtedly a promising young player, but I can not see
the point in bringing a player like him in on loan. If he is a
failure then it is a waste of time. If he is a huge success then
that is to the massive benefit of a club that some of us still like
to call rivals.
Sibierski. Are you joking Roeder? We desperately need players in
all of the positions listed above, so we go out and sign an
average, ageing, Manchester City reserve player who plays in the
area of the field that needs least strengthening. What on earth is
going on? Judging by the dozens of phone calls that I received last
night from friends and family once the news broke about this
signing, there are a lot of seriously disappointed and
disillusioned Geordie's out there. I have never known such a
bewildered reaction to a signing. We should have kept Lee Bowyer
and Michael Chopra - I would sooner have those players than the two
we have brought in.
Fingers crossed that the rumoured takeover bid is successful - I
can not face too many more years of mediocrity, mid table,
managerial merry-go-rounds and mis-management from the fat
controller.
